Issue Date: May 2, 1996
City: Washington, DC and Atlanta, GA
Quantity: 16,207,500
Printed By: Stamp Venturers
Printing Method: Photogravure
Perforations: 10.1
Color: Multicolored

 

There are two main types of Olympic diving competition – springboard and platform. Springboards, also known as diving boards, are 16 feet long and 20 inches wide. They extend about six feet from the edge of the pool, and stand three meters (9 feet 10 inches) above the water. The higher the diver springs from the board, the greater the height and spin she is able to achieve. Platforms are 20 feet long and at least six feet wide. Covered with a non-slip surface, the platforms used for Olympic competition stand ten meters (30 feet 5 inches) above the water.

 

In springboard diving competition, men perform five required dives and six optional – women perform five required and five optional. In platform diving, men perform four required and six optional dives, and women, four required and six optional. Required dives are given a degree of difficulty by the Fédération Internationale de Natation Amateur (FINA).

 

Judges evaluate each diver’s approach, take-off, grace, technique in the air, and entry into the water. Each judge awards points and half points on a scale of zero to 10. The diver’s points are tallied and multiplied by the degree of difficulty to ascertain her score. The meet score is the sum of an individual diver’s scores.